Archive for the Morinaga Milk Category

Sometimes, you hope something is finally translated into English, only to find it wasn’t nearly as good as you remembered. And sometimes, it’s the opposite! In Milk Morinaga’s The Secret of the Princess, we split the difference – it weathered the last two years since I first reviewed it relatively well and ended up being a more decent read in English than I expected. ^_^

Miu’s mother has told her repeatedly that the most important thing a girl can do is to devote her energies to being attractive to “her prince” – whomever that may ultimately be. But in the meantime, Miu’s stuck in an all-girl school without so much as a guy to be asked out by. Fortune puts her in the way of some mildly damning information about Fujiwara, the school sports star and, once in a position for some light extortion, she jumps to it. She asks Fujiwara to become a practice prince for her. And, as uncomfortable as the idea makes her, Fujiwara is in no position to protest. So, Miu and Fujiwara begin “dating.”

With a set up like this, in a single-volume Morinaga series, there can be little doubt that the two girls will come around reasonably quickly to having actual feelings for one another. And so they do. Despite the fairly obvious path the narrative takes, it’s not a terrible story. Miu, who might easily have been exceptionally unlikable, changes considerably during the course of the story and Fujiwara, who begins the book as a cipher, ends up equally as sympathetic. For a one-shot, this is a pretty enjoyable read. Even when the tables turn and Miu could easily become a one-dimensional sympathetic bad guy, Morinaga’s writing finds a happier path for the characters and the readers. ^_^

The production is, as one expects from Seven Seas, clean and easy to read. Translation and adaptation by Jennifer McKeon and Shannon Fey give us a pleasant, authentic reading experience. Just what one hope from Yuri manga from Seven Seas.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7 Problematic in the beginning, by smooths out over time
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7
Service – 3 bits here and there

In Volume 1, we met Hana and Hina, schoolmates who share a (against school rules) job working at a character goods store. Hina has a second part-time job modeling. In Volume 2, Hana learns something world-changing – Hina also previously had a girlfriend. Fighting with herself about nascent feelings for the younger woman, this changes her own perspective radically.

In Volume 3 of Hana to Hina ha Houkago ( ハナとヒナは放課後 ), Hana screws up her courage to bring up Hina’s former relationship, only to have the idea shot down by Hina, who blames Maiko for making it all awkward. She assures Hana that she’s “normal.” Now Hana is thrown into a real tizzy. She still likes Hina – having found the courage to admit that, she is devastated that her feelings won’t be returned. Things become very tense between them. Will they get together? I’m not going to spoil this book, as you too will be reading it in English (Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3) soon enough! But…seriously…what are the chances that they don’t get together? Pretty much nil, since it’s a series by Morinaga Milk. ^_^

The what, though, isn’t really that important. The how is.

If there is any criticism I have of Morinaga-sensei’s work, it is the fantasy of it all. Stress exists only as an internal struggle – the character(s) wrestling with their own feelings. There’s almost no interaction with external difficulties. No disapproving parents, no prejudiced school administrations. It’s a handwave I’m glad to accept, as it allows the story to exist as it’s own thing, in the fantasy of a lily-scented landscape. This may be changing

(In the following notes, there may be some small spoilers. I’ve done my best to minimize them, but be warned.)

In Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossoms Pink, Hitomi merely fantasizes about a future in which she and Nana are adults and can be together. In GIRL FRIENDS (Volume 1 and Volume 2) Morinaga-sensei took a step outside the isolation of a “couple in love” and gave Akiko and Mari friends…friends who accepted them and their relationship. In the very end, Mari even gave some thought to the issues of coming out to parents and what school and work might think…in the future.

In Hana to Hina ha Houkago, it is through the existence of a previous relationship that Hana learns about Hina’s sexuality. This is not unknown as a plot complication in manga, and often is denied, as Hina does. But it’s also addressed later on when Hina speaks more honestly.

Hana still has the benefit of a friendship outside Hina and it is in that friendship that she finds the strength to speak to Hina, when the tension between them is becoming oppressive.

The ending touches briefly upon two new issues for a Morinaga-sensei work, marriage and coming out. They are both presented with a creative flourish, without connection to the “real” world, but both in unique and positive ways. In a sense, it’s Morinaga-sensei herself taking tentative steps with her hyper cute romance narratives towards something with more depth. With Otouto no Otto running in the same magazine, maybe Morinaga-sensei’s feeling more confident about her narratives “coming out.” I’d like to think that she is. In her next series, we’ll hope to get the characters navigating dating or living together. ^_^

Overall – 9 for sexuality, coming out and marriage actually being addressed. ^_^

Morinaga-sensei shows us again that she’s strongest in a character-driven plot when she’s given the time to tell the whole story. At 3 volumes, I think Hana to Hina ha Houkago is her strongest work to date.

Time is a funny thing. I first reviewed Gakuen Polizi, Volume 2 when it came out in Japanese. And, since then, I’ve found myself increasingly dissatisfied with the narrative. So much so, that I reviewed Gakuen Polizi, Volume 1 in English in 2014(!) and have been stalling on Volume 2 since. Today, at last, I’m sitting down to talk with you about Gakuen Polizi, Volume 2 in English from Seven Seas.

Why? You don’t have to ask, because obviously I am going to tell you. ^_^

You know the phrase Women in Refrigerators? It was coined by comic writer and amazing human, Gail Simone. I’m going to be lazy and quote Wiki here:

It refers to an incident in Green Lantern #54 (1994), written by Ron Marz, in which Kyle Rayner, the title hero, comes home to his apartment to find that his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, had been killed by the villain Major Force and stuffed into a refrigerator. Simone and her colleagues then developed a list of fictional female characters who had been “killed, maimed or depowered”, in particular in ways that treated the female character as merely a device to move a male character’s story arc forward, rather than as a fully developed character in her own right.

In subsequent years, we’ve had many discussions in comics and other popular media about “fridging” and Kelly Sue DeConnick’s “sexylamptest” about which she said

“If you can replace your female character with a sexylamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.”

In a nutshell, these issues are part of the disenfranchising of female characters. And, to some extent, they are also part of the de-nuancing of the villains. In the weekend after watching Steven Universe “That Will Be All” in which we were gifted with fabulously nuanced and evocative performances from the villains of the story, it’s kind of brute-force narrative to have to turn to a manga in which a female character is almost gang raped on film just to show you how bad the nameless baddies are. UGH.

So, yeah, that’s why. ^_^

There are some other problematic things about the story. The relationship between a student and a teacher might be sincere, but will always be fraught. It was presented with some, but not enough context, just enough to make both characters sympathetic and the story less ham-handed, but the situation was still creepy.

Sometimes, when I write a story, I find it taking off into a dark place. I’ve cut out tens of thousands of words in stories when the idea needed to be treated with a light hand and kept crawling into a dark corner. This story needed that. It worked best when it was dealing with moments of human frailty and not big crime rings.

The ending makes sense best if you recognize the characters from a doujinshi Morinaga-sensei drew decades ago. To be honest, I assumed from the beginning that that story was the kernel for this manga.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 6
Service – 8 Way more service than the first volume

I started these lists because I’m very bad at recommendations, and while that has not changed, I do think it’s worth taking the time out every year to note the stories that surprised and pleased me over the course of year. If you have also enjoyed any of these in scanlation, please buy the original, even if you cannot read it. 2017 will present an extraordinary opportunity for you to get many of these in English, so there’s really no excuse! I know that Okazu readers are very likely to contribute to the Yuri ecosystem and for that, I thank you all. And, with that….Welcome to the Okazu Top Yuri Manga List for 2016!

There’s a number of reasons I wanted to put this graphic novel on the list. The first and most important reason was that it was good! I really enjoyed the storytelling and the characters. I love stories that take a look at after the story ends, and this story was that AND a fun magical woman story AND had a WoC lead AND was just generally cute as the proverbial button. And it was from Sparkler Monthly, which is the one fully truly original English language women-focused comic and prose magazine. I cannot begin to tell you how important I think this magazine is. Yes I can…I think it’s immensely important. For all these reasons, Mahou Jose Chimaka makes my best-of list for the year. ^_^

I love this story. I want so badly to take Nanami out and have a good long talk with her. Sure I want her and Kaede happy together, but honestly, I don’t really care about Kaede, I want Nanami to be happy.

I love Ohsawa Yayoi’s art, which has really leveled up. I love that it’s a story about adult women that has adult things like face soap and nice clothing and marketing promotions at work.

Volume 2 made me think that I couldn’t wait to read Volume 3. And that’s why it’s on the list. ^_^

Morinaga Milk has had a rough couple of series. Trying so desperately to apply a “Yuri” formula to characters she should have felt free to just tell the right story for, is no fun. But it feels like she’s hit her stride again in Hana to Hina ha Houkago, with a cute, cherub-faced innocent and ever-so-slightly-more-worldly girl who loves girly things. It’s a formula she’s used before, but it’s working here. I’m enjoying this series and hope she’ll be allowed to, and want to do, something beyond another coming out drama.

Coming in 2017, we’ll all be able to enjoy this story in English with Hana and Hina After School. Volume 1 and Volume 2 are already up for pre-order!

Katakura Ako’s art is a trainwreck and so was the story, but this highschool Jane Bond just really appealed to me. Shinobu took everything annoying about the “nonverbal anti-hero” wrapped it up in a school uniform, her ‘M’ was everything annoying about every ‘M’ ever….and slathered in Yuri for no reason. I loved it.

This is not even the only title on this year’s list that had no redeeming qualities. ^_^

Takemiya Jin continues to be an absolute machine at putting out good-to-excellent Yuri. And I continue to enjoy the heck out of it.

Her art has come a long way, her touch in storytelling is so deft that I’m probably holding her to higher standards than I have ever held anyone else. It’s not fair, but she’s just that good. It’s always a good year for Yuri when her work has to be this far down the list. ^_^

This is a manga that is on the list as much for the splash it made, both here and in Japan, as it is for my reaction to it. The formula was typical…and not typical at the same time. The story is playing with the audience, making us dance to it’s tune, rather than rushing forward into the most obvious ending.

The art is clean, the characters have depth and you’ll be able to start the new year off with the first volume of this series in English, from Seven Seas as Bloom Into You, Volume 1.

Another series on the list that is here as much for General Effect as it is for anything else. While the world may not have needed another all-Yuri couple school, Canno has included some slightly-less typical stories and created characters that exceeded their initial boundaries. I’m also just really glad that Canno’s got a breakout hit. Every artist ought to have at least one series that catches the Zetigest.

I warned you that Last Waltz wasn’t the only manga on the list that had no redeeming qualities, so you should have, honestly, expected this one. ^_^

Murcielagois ugly, it’s violent, the sex is nasty, the characters are cracked. The plots are absurd strings of ways to kill and dismember people and the dialogue is absurd. When it hits low points, it gets really low. Lower than Weather Woman low.

High points include creative ways for horrible people to die, consensual lesbian sex and perfectly matched psychopaths fighting.

And! You too can read this “violence Yuri manga” in English in 2017 from Yen Press (I like to pretend I don’t know why) as Murciélago, Vol. 1. Isn’t that amazing and cool? I certainly think so!

With so many of these titles coming out in English next year, it’s a fair bet you’ll see some back on the list next year. ^_^

2. Comic Yuri Hime Renewal

I’m not going to lie here. I was on absolute pins and needles about the January 2017 issue of Comic Yuri Hime, especially after Ichijinsha was bought by Kodansha. I was worried for a lot of reasons. Comic Yuri Hime had just gone through a cover series of extreme moe-blob faced covers, and a cover “story” which had me stabbing my eyes out with boredom and disgust.

There were, still, artists I liked, but how long would they be allowed to remain…and most of all, would we get anything ever again that was even remotely original? I don’t hate school girls, I just wanted a frikkin’ story that isn’t the same exact thing over and over.

While Comic Yuri Hime is not (and never can be, if it is to survive,) perfect, I was super pleased to see some genuinely original stories and new artists who didn’t need to retread the same old stories. Kind of out of relief, but also because I was so genuinely pleased at the direction the magazine is taking, the Comic Yuri Hime renewal is number 2 on the list!

In Volume 1, we met Hana, a typical high-school girl with an afterschool job at a mascot goods store, against school rules. At the store, she meets and befriends Hinako, another student from her school, who joins her as a part-timer. Hinako is also an amateur model with polished, adult looks, despite her actually being a first-year and Hana’s junior.

In Volume 2 of Hana to Hina ha Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後), the story follows a well-worn path through familiar territory for Morinaga Milk fans. As the two girls become closer, they – each in their own way – start to develop feelings for the other. And, as they grow closer, the potential for small jealousies and misunderstandings increase.

Hana learns about a former friend of Hina’s, Maiko, who is also a model. Unusually, it is instantly apparent to us that Hinako and Maiko’s relationship was more than friends, even if it’s not at all apparent to Hana. Hina, for her part, is jealous of Hana’s school friends, in a quiet, unintrusive way. They are switched off the same shift for school term exams, which adds to the sense of distance between them.

Hina comes awfully close to kissing Hana one day and is appalled at herself. Hana is starting to think about Hina differently when she actually meets Maiko, who casually tells her to tell Hina that her former girlfriend dropped by. The scales fall (at least partway) from Hana’s eyes.

Now we return to the tried and true as both girls have the same feelings, but neither can bring themselves to mention it to the other.

Hopefully Volume 3 will quickly resolve this and equally hopefully, we’ll get to step beyond that a bit and watch the relationship develop past the “we like each other” stage. At the moment, though, Morinaga-sensei is firmly in her comfort zone of just before-the-confession. While I am glad that Hina has had a previous girlfriend, I have no idea if or how that might affect the narrative going forward. I hope it does have some affect other than being a reason to be jealous. Certainly, Maiko didn’t seem vindictive or anything. So maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see a conversation about being gay in a Morinaga series. It’s still an outside chance, but she’s been edging closer and closer over time and Futabasha is the same publisher who is putting out Otouto no Otto.

Erica Friedman is the Founder of Yuricon, ALC Publishing and Yurikon LLC, Social Media Without Delusion. LGBTQ and Geek Marketing Consultant. Proud to be a MLS.
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